I flung a fireball at the nearest village hut, smirking as the villagers
ran in fear from the shelter.

"You'll
all pay!" I snarled, hovering over the guard tower as the guards tried to
shoot me with their petty bows and arrows. A sudden, ice-cold substance hit my
face, cold enough to burn. I screeched and scraped it off, spinning around to
find my attacker. A small girl with ice white hair and pale skin was standing
on the ground, a patch of snow under her feet and a snowball in hand. She was
wearing a blue one-piece leather outfit with a mid-thigh skirt. I snarled and
threw a fireball at her, avoiding the snowball as she threw it at me.

"Surrender!
By the authority of the MLPF, you are under arrest for attempted murder and
destruction of property!" The girl screeched, reaching for the snow again.
The snow leapt into her hand in the form of a perfect sphere. I was so
fascinated by the action that I didn't notice another person sneak under me and
fire a dart. Crying out, I wrenched it from my arm and dropped it as the whole
world spun around me. I remember falling from the sky as they hurried forward,
weapons in hand. I blacked out.

-~-

I came to
on a cold metal floor, with thick shackles covering my hands, holding them
together. I furiously tried to break them, but they were electrified and I
received a shock. I sat up quickly and looked around, trying to figure out
where I was.

"My,
my. Such great power in such a small child."

I stood up
hurriedly and spun around. A man with greying hair and a white, one-piece,
leather suit and a pair of white combat boots was standing at the far side of
the room, though there was a slight blue haze force field in between us.

"Where
am I?"

He smiled. "You
are at the Mystery Law and Protection Force headquarters. Welcome to your new
life."

-~-

The stack
of books in my hands fell for the third time, making a loud noise in the quiet
library. I hissed in frustration and clenched my fists together in anger.

"This
job is stupid! Why can't I just go back home?" I screeched, kicking the
books across the floor. A girl came running around the corner and, for a
moment, I thought it was the snow girl. Then I saw that her hair was cream, not
white, and she was taller. She wore a green suit instead of a blue one.

"Don't
shout! It's a library!" She whispered, flustered. I snarled, her eyes
widening.

"Y-you're
that new girl that Damsey told us about. He said you wouldn't want to shelve
books." I glared at her and started picking up the books again, balancing
them in a precarious pile in my arms as I looked for the right spot. The girl
followed me as I started down the next row, keeping close to my heels.

"What
do you want?" I growled, shoving a book in its spot. She pulled it out and
shifted it over one spot, then continued following me. She did this for about
20 minutes, at least until I snapped.

"What
the heck are you still following me for?!" I hollered. She froze, then
handed me a sealed note. I ripped the lid off and skimmed over the words on the
page.

'You are invited to the Initiation
Ceremony at noon. Please come in Formal Ceremony.'

"Formal
Ceremony? What the heck does that mean?" I asked, giving her a guarded
stare.

-~-

"This
is so not my style." I grumbled, picking at my hem. The sickeningly pink
dress came down to my knees, spaghetti straps holding it up on my shoulders.
Ira, the girl who had given me the note, handed me a shrug, a sheet of gauzy
satin that draped over both shoulders and rested inside my arms.

"I
figured, but it was the only dress I own that will fit you. You're just so
small." She pointed out, digging around in her desk drawer and resurfacing
with a brush.

"I
need to do your hair, but I'm not sure what I can do." My hair was long and
wavy, a bright red-orange color, but it was a clumped, burnt, and tangled. It
was a mess trailing down my back. Ira sighed. "I guess we'll just have to
wash it." She concluded, trading the shrug for a towel. I’ll just skip the
details and say I was not a happy camper.

"Crap! We've got three minutes
until the ceremony starts! Where's my hairdryer?" Ira squealed, trying to
find it while tying her own hair in a curly bun. I just raised my eyebrow and
closed my eyes, thinking about fire. I imagined it running through my hair and
boiling all the water, the water evaporating away.

"Whoa."
Ira gasped, tempting me to open my yellow eyes. The mirror reflected me, from
my position, and my hair was in flames but did notnot burn the dress or hurt me as it trailed
down my back. I smirked, canceling all thoughts of drying my hair and the
flames disappeared, leaving a glossy curtain of beautiful wavy red-orange
locks. "I guess we'll just pull back the strands right next to your face
and pin them with a fire pin." She suggested, snapping out of her daze and
rooting through her drawer again. The mention of a fire pin immediately sparked
my interest.

"What
kind of fire pin is it?" I asked, still guarded in my motives. Ira held up
a small hair clip with a flame on it, made from a ruby. “Can you light it on
fire?"

Ira nodded,
handing it to me.

"The
flame stays contained to the inside of the ruby, so it reflects the light
everywhere. Try it!" She urged, hurriedly tugging on a pair of silver
heels, that matched her strapless green dress. Her dress was skin tight to her
waist and symmetrical, but it broke off into a puffy, layered dress that went
to her left ankle and stopped at her right knee. There was a silver flower on
her right hip.

The
puffiness was absent in the skirt of my dress.

I'm only eleven. Ira's thirteen.

We ran down
the hallway, turning several corners until we reached a large set of doors. Ira
snatched the clip from my hand and pulled the foremost strands back, pinning
them in place.

"Do
your fire-thing." she said. I concentrated for a moment, then opened my
eyes. Ira gave me a thumbs-up and opened the doors. There were so many people
in the room, all wearing suits and fancy dresses. The man I met when I first
arrived was walking towards us, a pleasant expression on his face.

"Ira,
you made it. You didn't have any trouble with her, I presume?"

Ira shook
her head, curtsying and heading towards a labeled chair.

'SG Ira
Par'
I was so interested in watching her that I didn't hear the question directed
straight to me. The man snapped his fingers right in front of me and I jumped,
turning quickly to look at him. Laughter rang throughout the room, making me
flush with embarrassment.

"I
said, what is your name?" He repeated, pulling my attention away from the
others. I gulped, suddenly unsure of what to do.

"Well.
I didn't expect much else from a Spark. Don't worry, your name isn't
embarrassing." He reassured, putting a hand on my shoulder and leading me
down the walkway. When we reached the stage, he nudged me in front of him and I
hastened up the stairs.

He motioned
to the only empty chair, right beside a very small purple-haired girl with a
dark purple, vampire-style blouse and a shorter, black skirt. She wore a purple
belt overtop and a pair of red and purple striped leggings. When I sat down,
she flashed me a smile, showing off her spider like fangs.

"Hi!
My name's Casper! My older sister, Spire, is sitting in the audience!" She
whispered excitedly, practically bouncing out of her chair. On the other side
of her was an older boy with grey-white hair, his head was in his hands and his
shoulders were shaking lightly. Casper tugged on my arm and looked back at her.

"His
name's Dusty. He's scared." She whispered, her eyes wide.

I didn't
get to see the last one on the row, because the guy started talking.

"Ladies
and gentlemen, welcome. Today, we are pleased to initiate two new soldiers into
our program and level up two others."

'Soldiers?'

"First,
Eval Janson. Please step up here, Eval." The kid I couldn't see was a tall
boy with a tall-necked, stiff collared black jacket, a pair of stiff black
business pants, and black shoes. His hair was black and his skin fair, with
purple eyes to offset.

"Now,
Eval, what is your biggest goal for your first year?" He shrugged, looking
at us with bored eyes. "Well, I'm sure you'll get one. Here is your
schedule and your pin. Please sit with your peers."

"Thank
you, Mr. Deg." He muttered, stepping off stage and sitting in a chair
labeled with his name.

"Next,
Dustin James. Dustin will be moving from Bronze Blue to Bronze Green. Dustin,
please step up here." Mr. Deg requested. Dusty shook his head frantically,
whimpering as he began to shake more. I carefully thought about a warm coat in
the winter, a hug from a parent, a hot bath, all things that would comfort Dusty.
I heard gasps from the people offstage and opened my eyes. A mirror in the back
of the room reflected the image they saw. I had a red glow around me, Dusty
with a matching one and huge eyes as he looked at his arms and legs.

"Would
you look at that. Fire manipulation, with hidden secrets. Dusty, I believe
she's trying to say something, hum?" Mr. Deg suggested, beckoning the boy
to him. Dusty stumbled to his feet, standing beside Mr. Deg as he received a
new bronze pin. He gave me a weak smile as he sat in his labeled chair.

"Please
join me in welcoming Casper Maven, who is starting her first year.
Casper?" He gave her an expectant look and she shot up from the chair. She
tripped and fell, shooting tough webs from her wrists and catching herself with
the wall-connected webs. She righted herself and hurried to Mr. Deg.

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The Lime Green Giraffe is a by-girls for-girls online publication of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta. We publish two annual issues in August and February in addition to more frequent coverage of special Girl Scout events. Our content focuses on Girls, Info, Reports, Activities, Fun, Friends, and Excitement.